Now although the majority of villagers have access to the internet, it hasn’t escaped our attention that there may be those who don’t, or who do have access, but don’t yet feel confident enough to get involved with the Parish Council and other villagers on the Parish Council Website. There may be a host of other reasons keeping people from engaging and it may simply be that they prefer the old ways of doing things. To make sure everyone is included, we are introducing Onboard and Online; a new section of the village noticeboard in Church Street. Highlights of information that has appeared on the website will be posted on the noticeboard, at intervals, as will an outline of topics that have been raised by the Parish Council, or Parishioners, in the Forum. If people want to engage with the Parish Council on these topics, then they can do so by contacting Jim Carr, the Parish Clerk at:
1 Cleeve View
Winterbourne Stoke
Salisbury
SP3 4SY
Phone: 07973 366762
Email: clerk@winterbournestokepc.org.uk
or buttonhole any of the Parish Councillors!
Similarly, if you haven’t seen the website https://winterbournestokepc.org.uk/ and would like to do so, then again, feel free to ask one of the Parish Councillors who would be delighted to show you.
Digital Inclusion
One of our aims going forward is to encourage as many villagers as we can to get online. Love it or loathe it, the digital world is here to stay and it will impact on every area of our lives – from the cradle to the grave. We are in the early stages of considering whether to offer a bit of FREE training on PCs, laptops, tablets and smart phones. We already have a “Digital Champion”, a member of the UK Digital Champion Network in the village, who is prepared to give some time to this. In addition to showing you how to get the most out of the Parish Council website, this can help you with any or all of the following:
- Using a computer for the first time and understanding the mouse and keyboard
- Using email, Skype or Facebook to keep in touch with friends and family
- Ordering your groceries and having them delivered to your door
- Searching and applying for jobs online
- Researching your hobbies and interests
- Using price comparison websites to find the best deals on everything from car insurance, to utilities
- Booking appointments with your doctor or hospital online
- Looking up bus and train times and finding the cheapest fares, flights and hotel rooms
- Organising and storing your digital photos and other documents
- Writing letters and printing and scanning documents
- Getting the latest news, sport and weather forecasts, or catching up on your favourite TV or radio programmes
- Accessing government services, such as taxing your car, renewing your library books, checking your rubbish collection days and paying your Council Tax.
We need to know the level of demand for this before moving forward. It might be that a computer group is best if the demand is high, or one-on-one tuition if not. Of course, you don’t need to learn in the village and Wiltshire Council, through its Wiltshire Online initiative are providing the same Digital Champion Network training at computer clubs across Wiltshire:
- Bradford on Avon Library, Mondays, 2pm-4pm
- Chippenham, Salvation Army Hall, Foghamshire, Tuesdays, 1:15pm-2:45pm
- Corsham Library, Wednesdays term time only from 2pm-4pm (2pm-3pm supported by 6th form students from Corsham School)
- Cricklade Leisure Centre on Mondays at 10am-12pm
- Devizes Library on Mondays term time only 3:30pm – 5pm (supported by 6th form students from Devizes school)
- Malmesbury Library, Wednesdays term time only from 3.30pm – 5pm
- Melksham Library on Thursdays 5.30pm – 7pm
- Mere Library on first Tuesday of the Month 2 – 4, Angel Tea Rooms – 3rd Wednesday of the month 3 – 4
- Shrewton Maddington Church Rooms monthly – see notice board for more information
- Tisbury Sacred Heart Parish Rooms 2nd and 4th Wednesday 10 – 12
- Winterslow Truffles Cafe, Winterslow village Hall, check with venue
Please register before going along to any of these on 0300 456 0100 or email digitalinclusion@wiltshire.gov.uk as places are limited.
If you are interested in the sorts of training shown above, please contact the Clerk (details above), or any Parish Councillor by 15th January 2017.
Specialist Help for the Disabled and Older Persons
Specialist computer assistance and training can be provided FREE, in your own home, for the disabled and the elderly, through Ability Net. Simply call 0800 269 545 (Freephone) during normal UK Office Hours.
Current Forum Topics
There are two topics initiated by the Parish Council where input is being sought from Parishoners:
- The Red Phonebox – what should we do with it?
- A Defibrillator for the village – if we get one (and it may be FREE) where should it be sited.
Two topics have been initiated by Villagers:
- TDY is concerned there may be a lack of interest in village affairs. Is that the case?
- Joy Horne is concerned that with the change of management and image at the Bell Inn, now the Solstice Rest, we appear to have lost our village pub as it seems to be closed more often than it is open in the evening. What are your views.
If you have views on any of the topics above, just jot something down on paper (handwriting is fine, providing its legible) together with your name (so we know you are a real villager!) and a nickname if you want to be anonymous on the Forum. Pass these on to the Clerk or any Parish Councillor and we will do the rest and scan your views and put them on the website for all to see and comment on.
New Forum Topics
You can initiate a new Forum topic online if you are a registered user, in writing as outlined above, or verbally by coming along to the Villager’s Questions section of a Parish Council Meeting – in this day and age we can’t accept verbal input direct to an individual councillor or the Clerk due to the lack of an audit trail. The next Parish Council Meeting is scheduled for 19:00 on Monday 16th January and we hope to hold it in the Solstice Rest.